This is something I find myself constantly struggling with. Bob Johnson good naturedly pokes me now and then for offering a lot of things to try, which risks complicating the current diagnosis and treatment regimen people may be on.

I always advice people they should get to a Headache specialist neurologist. That's their best option. For so many, that's just not available. They come here because they are hurting, and no one is helping them. Someone with sudden, severe onset headache pain, should see a doctor, like yesterday. But someone with a 10 year history of headaches, with no help from the medical field, I say give them the shotgun approach of everything we use that works. Maybe they'll find something that stops the pain.

But that's just my 2 cents worth!

Joe

Please don't feel guilty, Potter.  I truly believe that I and many others in that situation would have done the same exact thing.

Brew wrote on Oct 17^th, 2013 at 2:40pm:



Ditto.....and have.

I'm sorry Potter....Please, don't feel this was your fault.  The stroke would most likely have happened no matter what....02, pain meds, etc.  It's sad but that's the result of brain bleeds.   

You did what many here might have done. We need to remember that we are not medical doctors.

However in posting here about what happened and using it to educate us is a big step as it might  help one of us from repeating this mistake.

I hope your friend recovers from his stroke.

Potter... I speak from experience.. Strokes are as unpredictable as CH. My husband was pronounced in great shape one day and had a massive stroke the next. No reason - he just did.

Don't beat yourself up .. just be there for Tom and know that there are a lot of prayers going out for the both of you.

You did what any one of would have done and what the ER would have done. 

The way I see it is you provided him a measure of pain free comfort before what was probably inevitable occurred.

You did nothing wrong.

I read what you went through with Tom. I can't say that I fully understand where your head is, because: No, I haven't been there. Shit happens.

Yeah, there is a happy medium in the quest to provide information to people who are teetering on the edge. Without the level of sharing that we are talking about, many of us wouldn't be walking the planet today. 

I almost took down my O2 pages because of your post about Tom - and I still might. After all, I don't need O2 anymore... ....so why bother. Someone might light up a smoke and take out the whole neighborhood.

But I learned about dealing with CH's here - a whole lot of years ago. For now, I will stand behind the idea that we offer suggestions for people to explore on their own. We aren't prescribing medications, shoving vitamins and "cures" down peoples throat. We are offering insight for folks to take into consideration with their medical professionals. Sometimes that means showing them the incompetence of their doctor.

Not everyone with head pain has CH's. You've pointed that out more than once! But because you know "our pain" you care. I know that.

Where is the break point of sharing our common experience and gained knowledge?  I honestly don't know, because as a whole, the medical community is just now trying to catch up with us.

I will say loudly and clearly:
When I landed here in 1999, I was lost and sinking fast
Multiple doctors took me down several wrong roads ineffective drugs
The overzealous folks from the old, old site put me back on my feet with a will to fight

They didn't just tell me to take two aspirin and call my doctor - that would have thinned my blood........

Yeah - your point is more than correct - I'm NOT hinting otherwise. What I am posing is the question:

Where is the dividing line?

Best to you my friend.
Marc

Thanks Marc, you put my thoughts into words, it's a line I always fight with, trying to find that happy medium.

Joe